The last half of the twentieth century, and particularly the last two decades, has been characterized by rapid change in the travel industry, particularly the hospitality segment of that industry. Driven both by scale economies and a desire to nurture and trade upon "brand loyalty" among travelers, hotels and motels have evolved from largely insular, "mom and pop" operations to a preponderance of large chains of hotels and/or motels operating under a common name. Many of such chains have properties widely distributed throughout the United States and overseas as well--e.g., Sheraton, Hilton, Marriott, etc. The various properties comprising such a chain may be commonly owned, independently owned but operating under a common franchise, or some combination of the two.
In general, such chains will have established a common interface point--e.g., an "800" telephone number--for access by the public at large to obtain reservations or other information respecting any of the properties comprising the chain, as well as a common interface for third-party booking agencies, such as travel agents, to establish reservations at various properties in the chain. Because of the magnitude of the data to be managed, such chains will also generally have established a central computerized database where reservations taken through such common interface points are maintained, along with means for communicating specific reservation data to the affected properties.
The present invention takes this data management function to a new, substantially higher level of utility.